TWO excited teams have tied for first place in a two day film challenge in Chester.
The 48 Hour Film Challenge, part of the Deva Screen film and digital media festival, took place from Saturday to Monday, May 29 to 31.
Northwich-based teen’s team ‘Impressive Dudes in Outrageous Tiger Suits (IDIOTS)’ and Wrexham based ‘Lojo’, beat off competition from seven other completed films created by local movie makers.
Programme manager for Chester Performs, Amber Knipe, said: “This year’s competition was particularly difficult to judge, the competition proves that film-making talent is ripe in Chester.
“We had a great mix of entrants, from professional film-makers to industry newcomers. It represented a true cross section of talent.”
The challenge, lead by the festival’s resident film-maker Richard Ranchurn, included strict criteria: films had to be either Western, film noir or road movie and also had to include the line ‘You Probably Couldn’t See For the Lights But You Were Looking Straight At Me’, ‘The only job you’re gonna get in here is pushing’ up daisies from a pine box’ or ‘Dress Sexy at my Funeral’ .
Titles of each film had to include the word ‘Vagabond’, ‘Tonic’ or ‘Yellow’.
The film by IDIOTS, entitled One More Gin and Tonic, was a film noir, private eye flick. Meanwhile, team Lojo’s Yellow Flowers was a tender road movie about a young woman grieving her first love.
Chris Tavener, 17, of IDIOTS, said: “We were all made up to hear that we we’d won, and are looking forward to the Lime Picture Studios tour.”
Cheshire West and Chester Council Cllr Richard Short, who presented the winning teams with their prize of a tour around Liverpool’s Lime Pictures Film and TV studios, said: “It was a real treat to view the completed films as there was such a diverse response to the criteria.
“This competition is a great showcase of the city’s creative talent.”
Winning films can be viewed at www. chesterperforms.com/Content/Projects/ScreenDeva/48FilmChallengeWinners.aspx.